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Geek Culture / Anyone in the UK on NTL?

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Nicholas Thompson
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Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 00:11 Edited at: 2nd Sep 2006 00:27
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I'm on NTL at home and there are a number of sites that I cant get to at the moment - they "take too long to respond". This happens to all the machines on my network. Things I've tried:
Restarting both modem and router (Standard NTL Cable Modem, Linksys 54G Router)
Using Win XP Pro SP2, Max OSX 10.4 (PPC) and Fedora Core 5 (using ping and wget).
Sites that DO work fine:
www.pponline.co.uk
This Forum
Yahoo!Mail
Sites that DO NOT work:
www.thingy-ma-jig.co.uk
the new servers at work (but the old one is fine and they're on the same switch... Plus I can get to them from other locations).
my.rackspace.com

Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Its been going on for a few days now. I thought NTL would have sorted it out...

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BatVink
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 01:35
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Use a different proxy server. Just Google proxy and you'll find loads.



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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 01:53
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Interesting suggestion - however that doesn't seem to help... Thanks though, might work better tomorrow?!

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Seppuku Arts
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Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 01:56
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This sort thing happened when we got our new modem that handles our 8meg bandwidth...my solution, use our old one that goes up to 3 meg...Not practical, but I asked my Dad to look into it as I had no clue...he never did. Except I think things worked on the Mac... Things that didn't work for me were like 'post data' things, I could go on here, but couldn't post on any forum, couldn't send emails and couldn't sign onto MSN.

But I will try Batvink's solution when I'm home alone, my sister hates it when the internet goes off, she'd kill me if I kept switching modems to see if it would work.

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Dazzag
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 03:46
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I'm guessing NTL's DNS servers in your area are having problems. I get that now and again with NTL. Personally I am having no problems with your linked sites. I'm on 10mbit NTL somewhere near Heathrow.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 12:07
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Interesting. I did thing it was DNS, but from the linux box I can "dig" the domains in next to no time (dig = a tool for looking up domain name info).

I might try leaving the modem unplugged for an extended period to change my IP (and hopefully range)...

I'll also try usin a free open DNS server.

Cheers guys.

Btw: I'm in the SE - on the Bexley range.

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adr
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 12:50 Edited at: 2nd Sep 2006 12:52
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Don't know how NTL works, but back in the day when I was with telewest in Newcastle, the UBRs would go down more often than a whore's drawers. Raise a support ticket for your local area. Oh, and then wait 6 months while they gradually figure out you're not a moron ("Have you tried turning the modem off for 30 seconds?") ...


Oh yeah, have you tried turning the modem off for 30 seconds?

I raised a support ticket with Eclipse ADSL once because something was a bit screwy, and they replied with a stock "turn off your modem" response. I was about to call them up and shout about how stupid their suggestion was, when I thought I'd better do it just to placate them, and it worked.... which made me feel a little foolish.

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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 13:37
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I was with AOL (while on NTL telephone) once and I kept getting engaged signals from their end. The guy couldn't understand that this was physically impossible as a problem at my end and made me go through the whole uninstall, reinstall, use of HyperTerm, blah, blah... He decided to forward me onto a "Supervisor" when I asked him what he'd do if he phone a friend and it was engaged, would he:
a) Dismantle his phone
b) Call back later when the line was free

I've just tried leaving the modem AND router unplugged for about an hour. No effect. In fact, annoyingly, I still have the same IP!

I'm not gonna phone them - I resent paying 50p a minute to inform them that they've screwed up.

What confuses me the most is I can PING and SSH to the server's absolutely fine. I can trace route to them too with no delay's or losses... It only seems to be the web side of things causing an issue - which to me logically points at a broken cache server at NTL... I think.

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adr
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 14:14 Edited at: 2nd Sep 2006 14:19
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Is www.ebuyer.com slow for you too?

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/archive/index.php/t-23553.html

EDIT - Seems to be common knowledge that NTL's transparent web cache is a pile of poop. I'd try and set up an alternative proxy in your web browser.

FINAL EDIT -
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/trancache.html

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But you see, I have the will of the warrior. Therefore, the battle is already over. The winner? Me!
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 14:20
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I'm actually over at my girlfriends now using her 1Mb Tiscali connection because it actually works! I'll try those later if they're still broke. Thanks for the links adr!

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adr
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 14:26
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OK, let's review.
You're at your girlfriend's house - fine.
You're on her computer - ok I guess.
You're checking and replying to these forums - what a lucky lady

Aaaanyway - I'm pretty sure that's the cause. I don't know how transparent caches work, but if one local web cache assigns itself one URL, and that server becomes overloaded/borked, then accessing that site would become slow. SSH/Telnet requests aren't on port 80, so those requests aren't fulfilled by the proxy. By forcing MSIE/Firefox/Whatever to use a different one, you should get around the problem.

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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2006 14:51
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Hehe - I'm actually on my laptop using her wireless

I'll try a different proxy - but I tried that last night and it seemed to make no difference...

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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 12:35 Edited at: 3rd Sep 2006 12:39
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wow - I found a "cure"... Basically, I went to http://www.broadband-help.com/cm_diagnose.asp?init=1 and looked down the page to find my cache. I then added that to Firefox's manual proxy box on port 80 (same for all proxy types checkbox is ticked) and now everything works - not only that, it works REALLY quick. How odd!!

EDIT: ok - now I just get garbage on the screen... God I hate NTL right now!

EDIT 2: Can I just confirm - does this page work for you: www.sportbusiness.com? Its one I recently moved onto a new server and the homepage just comes up as garbage. I've tried enabling and disabling zLib output (it halves the page size!) and it made no difference. Its currently on. I find, though, that www.sportbusiness.com/reports/ is absolutely fine!! It just seems to be the homepage.

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SimSmall
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 13:02
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I get this...




Not exactly garbage, but I can't see anything... Although reports does show up absolutely fine... Probably a bad transfer between hosts, I don't think it's NTL this time...
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 13:06 Edited at: 3rd Sep 2006 13:40
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Interesting - thats what I get in IE. However my girlfriend DOESN'T get that on Tiscali - it works perfectly (hence me pointing the finger at NTL)...

Are you on NTL (maybe in the south east?)

I've just tried manually setting loads of different proxies. All the NTL ones return the same junk in FF or download file in IE. The others either return junk, wont let me connect or just generally dont work. Bugger!!!

Anyone got any idea's?

EDIT: Ok - a possible sollution for the sportbusiness.com one, The CMS being used has built in caching. When I enabled GZIP, it confused the cache as it was returning none gziped cached pages, but running them through gzip. I've cleared teh cache and I'm getting fewer errors on the server. I'm still buggered here though - I cant get to anything now!!!

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SimSmall
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 14:17
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Quote: "Are you on NTL (maybe in the south east?)"


Nope, well - sort of... NTL for TV and Phone, but bulldog for internet. Plus I'm i the North West. So perhaps tiscali is uber?
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Dazzag
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 16:03 Edited at: 3rd Sep 2006 16:03
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No, sportbusiness works fine for me. Thats using the latest beta of IE7. Just checked and it also worked fine in Firefox for me. Thats on 10mbit NTL near Ascot/Windsor.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 17:18
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Hmmm this is most peculiar. I wonder... I might try the Ascot/Windsor cache's later. See if that makes a difference. Ascot is a LOVELY place, went to a hotel there at valentines. Windsor is a fun town to drive around - especially if you get lost as easily as I do

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lagmaster
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2006 18:05
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it works fine here, try a cambridge cache.

lagmaster
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Dazzag
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 00:45
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Quote: "Windsor is a fun town to drive around - especially if you get lost as easily as I do "
Yeah, it's the reason I bought a TomTom. Oh, and I live in Bracknell (right round the corner) and annoyingly work in Slough

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 09:14
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I had to pull into slough when my car decided to get a sticky throttle in a traffic jam around the M3 (Or was it M4...)

I also just found out that whatever problem NTL were having, it is now solved... Precisely 48 hours after I needed it to be solved... Precisely at the time when it doesn't matter because I'm returning to work and can access the site from there rather than home.

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indi
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 11:47
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trace route the information and send it to your isp.
I had to do something similar to my isp recently over the weekend

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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 12:44
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I checked this morning and it's all working perfectly now. Ironically, 48 hours after I NEEDED it to work. And now I'm at work, I couldn't care less if it worked or not! Bloody NTL-Hell...

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OSX Using Happy Dude
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 15:32
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I have to ask - why use NTL, and not a proper ISP ?

Come to the last Unofficial DBPro Convention - register interest by Saturday 2/9/06 (http://convention.logicstudios.net/)
Demoing at the last Chichester Convention : Humans On A Planet
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Dazzag
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 16:09
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I had them on dialup, esp. when they had that totally free period. Then I signed up for ADSL as soon as humanly possible. 10 months later or so they got back to me to say they could fit it in a couple of weeks time. I took a week off or so just in case. Then the day before they were supposed to fit it they phoned and asked my postcode. Which they had known X months ago when I first registered. They then told me that I was too far from the exchange and would have to wait until the tech got better etc (6 months to a year estimate). I basically told them where to shove the ADSL line and then phoned NTL (already had TV with them in a bedroom, as I have Sky elsewhere). Had it installed and working the next day.

After hearing some reports of ADSL I quite like my cable modem. And apart from NTL being *the worst company on earth for support* I've had no issues for using it really. Obviously I have my websites set up with other ISPs as NTL suck at that sort of thing.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 18:41
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To be honest, apart from a couple of rare issues recently after upgrading us from 2Mb to 4Mb for free, we've had no problems.

And when you say "Proper" ISP, you actually mean expensive dont you

There are actually a few other ADSL based ISP's which run of the NTL backbone - Tesco.net being one of them.

I like NTL - they're bloody quick, when they work. Its just I think they've been having load issues recently.

Philbert - who are you with?

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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 21:43
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MOTHER F...... ITS NOT WORKING AGAIN! [href]

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OSX Using Happy Dude
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 22:20 Edited at: 4th Sep 2006 22:20
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Quote: "And when you say "Proper" ISP, you actually mean expensive dont you"

Depends on what you mean by "expensive".

I'm with Nildram.

Come to the last Unofficial DBPro Convention - register interest by Saturday 2/9/06 (http://convention.logicstudios.net/)
Demoing at the last Chichester Convention : Humans On A Planet
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lagmaster
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 22:23
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with any luck we should get the telewest technicians soon.

good isp to be with if you have no problems, just dont phone them up now, it's expensive and they're not english!

lagmaster
Devhat IRC Network [href=irc://irc.devhat.net] -> MIRC link <- [/href]
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 4th Sep 2006 22:29
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hehe - well SOME good news. I just manually set my browser to use the Manchester cache (1) which I got from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/trancache.html#ntl and its working perfectly... Quicker than normal in fact, which leaves me thinking that Machester must have a massively better cache than Bexley as my conncetion is going halfway up the UK and back again to get to some of the servers I want (assuming the cache's are local to their name-sake).

Its also ironic because Bexley is a much "richer" area than Manchester.

Oh well!

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